Envelop.



. No. 658,926. am t d Y amcmen L E-.., vosmLn. n e om' 2 '900' ENVEL-UP.

(Amilicatin filed In. 39, 1899.) ,um Model.)

Tus Nomus Parana cu. vnoraurno.. wnsnmm'ou. u c.

tinnen Smilievv PATENT OFFICE.

OSCAR RICHTER AND ERIK L. VOGNILD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ENVELOP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 658,926, dated October2, 1900. Application filed March 29, 1899'. erial No. 710,948. (Nomodel.)

To all whom, t may concern..-

Be it known that we, OSCAR RICHTER and ERIK L. `VOGNILD, citizens of theUnited States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Envelops, ofwhich the following is a specification.

Our invention relates particularly to an improvement in envelopsl orcovers for use in sending money or valuables from one place to anotheror in forwarding important secret despatches or the like.

Our object is to provide means for preventing tampering with envelops ofthis character, as for the purpose of theft orv of gaining knowledge ofthe despatch being forwarded.

We accomplish our purpose, preferably, by supplying the blank from whichthe envelop is made with com paratively-stiff wires secured thereto orembedded therein in such manner that after the envelop is formed thewires are so located as to act as a safeguard against the envelop beingcut, and in addition to this precaution improved means are supplied forpreventing the unsealing of the envelop.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is an inner view of anenvelop-blank constructed in accordance with our invention; Fig. 2, aview of the reverse side of the sealed envelop; Fig. 3, an enlargedbroken sectional View on line 3 of Fig. l, and Fig. 4 a view of atransparent piece of paper or the like to be applied to the envelop as asafeguard against unsealing.

A represents an envelop, shown in reverse side. 'lhe envelop is formedfrom a blank A', supplied in the process of manufacture 0r subsequentlywith comparatively-stiff wires ct b, crossing each other, as shown. Thewire ribs are preferably so located as to cross each other at rightangles, so as to render it impossible to out along any edge of theenvelop or parallel to any edge on either side for any considerabledistance without encountering a rib. If a rib be cut, it is not possibleto so reseal the envelop as to prevent detection. The wires are shownheld in place by strips of paper or cloth ot b', cemented to the innersurface of the blank. As stated, however, they may be located in thepaper or material of the blank during the manufacture thereof. Thenumber of wires may be increased at will.

II" the ribs be cut in an effort to make a sufL ciently-large incisionto extract the contents of the envelop, the :fact is readily exposed bybending the envelop, and thereby causing the ends of the ribs toprotrude. The wires may be replaced by ribs of any material suited tothe purpose the severed ends of which could be caused to tear the paperand protrude by bending.,r the envelop. In other words, the value ofthis feature of the improvement lies not alone in the increaseddiflculty of makl ing a sufciently-large incision to permit the envelopcontents to be abstracted, but also in the impossibility of concealingthe cut eiectually by resealing.A Ribs ot' any material which willrender them difficult of confinement may be used, therefore, so long asthey are of anature not tointerfere with the proper forming of theenvelop. Spring-metal wire possesses this abolutely-necessary quality ina high degree, and its use is therefore preferred.

Figs. 2 and 4 show the improved means for preventing unsealing of theenvelop. This feature of the improvement,while not limited in itsapplication to use in connection with the improved form of envelop hereshown, is in the present application claimed only in combination withsaid improved envelop.

Fig. 2 shows the envelop provided on the reverse side, at and about thelines of4 sealing, with characters comprising the address and indicatingthe amount contained in the envelop. These characters are preferablyformed with an indelible pencil and when applied are dry andinconspicuous. When moistened, as by the use of steam in an effort tounseal the envelop, the ink changes color and spreads, the charactersbecoming very prominent, and the ink being caused to peneltrate thematerial of the envelop in a manner to prevent its removal. Thecharacters are .shown written within a space c, (indicated by IOO .tened.

after the latter is sealed and the characters then written. If thelatter method is pursued, it is quite important that the transparentprotecting-strip be sufficiently porous to act as a transfer-sheet whenmoisture is applied in order that the envelop shall receive the inktherefrom when the latter is mois- Obviously it is impossible to apply aknife beneath the protecting-strip Without the effects being noticeablethrough the transparency, and it is impossible (for the reasons stated)to remove the protecting-strip intact to enable the knife to beinserted.

As plainly appears from Fig. 2, the space which is occupied by thetransparent strip c is comparatively large, leaving only short lines ofsealing of the envelop exposed. The importance of this feature isevident when it is remembered that the lines of sealing affordpractic-ally the only necessarily-dicult places to provide againstcutting. The use of long black lines on an envelop would afford anotherdanger; but this use may be avoided. The lines of sealing, however, arenecessarily present, and the transparent strip c should be of sufficientsize to prevent a line of sealing from being exposed continuously farenough to permit an incision of such size to allow the extraction of theenvelop con tents. The writing ofthe address across the lines of sealingserves the important purpose of directingr the eyes of the clerk to thetrans-.

parent seal e' and to that portion of the euvelop where any attempt toopen the envelop would most likely be made. The use of an indeliblepencil or the like for forming the characters prevents the use of steamor moisture. The use of the transparency prevents the use of a knife.Both act together to protect the lines of sealing of the envelop, and itwould seem that the use of one without the other or some equivalentthereof would defeat the object wholly or in part. The same may beaffirmed ofthe use of either the wires or the transparent seal withoutthe use of both.

rPhe side ofthe envelop not shown is to contain the necessaryinstructions to agents or employees and such other matter as may benecessary or convenient.

Efforts have heretofore been made to protect currency contained Withinan envelop by sewing through the envelop and the contained bills andpassing the cord about the envelop and fixing with sealing-wax. Such aconstruction is insecure, however, for the reason that both cord andenvelop may be cut beneath the sealing-wax and on lines where the effectis not noticeable and the envelop resealed in a manner to escapedetection. With our improved construction no lines are afforded Where anincision can be made without detection.

We do not limit ourselves to the exact material shown and described norto any particular method of manufacture for the en velop-blank or methodof procedure in applying ink characters and transparent protectingmaterial. For the purpose of the claims the space on the envelop beneaththe transparent piece is to be regarded as the surface to be protected,even though the ink characters are applied to the outer surface of saidtransparent piece.

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In an envelop, the combination with the envelop-body, of stiffmetallic wire ribs attached to the material of the body and crossingeach other, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In an envelop, the combination with the body thereof ofcomparatively-stiff ribs of Wire or the like, a transparentprotectingpiece applied to the envelop ata line of sealing, andcharacters of indelible ink or its equivalentin closejuxtaposition tosaid transparent piece, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In an envelop, the combination with the body thereof of ribs of Wireor the like, characters of indelible ink or the like applied to theenvelop at the line of sealing, and a comparatively-large piece oftransparent paper or the like above the characters and crossing thelines of sealing and cemented in lace, substantially as and for thepurpose set orth.

4. In an envelop, the combination with the envelop-body, of stifflongitudinal and transverse ribs attached lo the material of the bodyand crossing each other, said ribs exlending across one side of theenvelop and about the lateral and end edges thereof and back on thereverse side to protect the same,and a seal covering the ends of bothlongitudinal and transverse ribs, substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

OSCAR RICHTER. ERIK L. VOGNILD. In presence of- D. W. LEE, R. T.SPENCER.

